U.S. Moves to Close the "Old Equipment Loophole" — Washington Targets Chinese Tech Already on American Shelves

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The FCC Takes Its Toughest Step Yet Against Chinese Tech Giants

The United States is dramatically tightening its crackdown on Chinese telecommunications equipment. On April 3, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — America's telecommunications regulator — announced it is seeking public comment on whether to ban the continued importation of Chinese tech gear that was approved for sale in the U.S. before the existing ban took effect in 2022.

This is a significant escalation. Until now, older, previously approved equipment from companies like Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua, and Hytera could still legally enter the country. That loophole may soon be closed.

What Is the "Covered List" — and Why Does It Matter?

To understand the new move, a quick look back helps.

In 2021, the FCC added five Chinese companies to its so-called "Covered List" — a register of technology products considered a threat to U.S. national security. The five companies targeted were Huawei and ZTE, the two largest Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers, as well as Hikvision, Dahua, and Hytera — all major producers of video surveillance equipment.

The ban primarily targets equipment used for network infrastructure, public safety, and the surveillance of government facilities and critical infrastructure.

In November 2022, the FCC went further. New rules were issued that prohibited the FCC from authorizing any new telecommunications equipment from Huawei and ZTE, and also restricted authorization for new surveillance gear from Hikvision, Dahua, and Hytera.

But there was a catch.

The Gap in the Law: Equipment Already on the Market

The 2022 order did not impose an immediate ban on the importation or use of already-licensed equipment from those companies. Products that had received approval before the cutoff date could still be imported and sold.

That gap has been a source of frustration for security hawks ever since. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr — who now leads the commission under the Trump administration — had long pushed for this loophole to be closed. According to FCC documents, the new proposed rules would extend prohibitions to older models of Covered List equipment, including Huawei and Hikvision products, that can currently still be imported and sold in the U.S.

Previous regulations simply did not apply to previously authorized devices — and the new rules seek to establish a process for prohibiting the continued importation, marketing, and sale of all devices on the Covered List, even those that had already received prior approval.

Why Now? The Cybersecurity Context

The timing is no coincidence. In recent years, a series of sophisticated Chinese state-sponsored cyberattacks has rattled Washington.

Three major campaigns — known as Volt Typhoon, Salt Typhoon, and Flax Typhoon — have exploited vulnerabilities in foreign-made networking equipment to infiltrate critical infrastructure, compromise telecommunications networks, and conduct surveillance on American citizens.

The Volt Typhoon campaign, in particular, specifically targeted small office and home routers to build botnet infrastructure across the U.S. A botnet is a network of secretly hijacked devices used to launch cyberattacks.

The concern is not theoretical. A report found that at least 1,681 state and local governments across 49 U.S. states had purchased technologies from the banned companies between 2015 and 2021 — meaning the gear is already deeply embedded in American infrastructure.

The FCC's Broader Campaign Against Chinese Tech

The April 2026 move is part of a wider push by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to systematically remove Chinese technology from American networks.

Carr has stated that the FCC is looking to close what he calls "loopholes that bad actors could use to threaten the security of our networks," warning that foreign adversaries are constantly seeking ways to exploit vulnerabilities in American systems.

Earlier in 2026, the FCC also moved against Chinese-controlled testing laboratories — facilities that certify electronics for sale in the U.S. FCC Chairman Carr warned that while the FCC had introduced national security checks into its equipment authorization process, there were no rules requiring the test labs conducting those reviews to be trustworthy actors. The commission has since initiated proceedings against numerous Chinese-controlled labs.

What Happens Next?

The FCC's April 3 announcement is not yet a final rule — it is a request for public comment. That is standard regulatory procedure in the U.S.: before a rule becomes binding, affected companies, consumers, and other parties are invited to submit their views.

Should retroactive measures ultimately be adopted, they could take the form of a ban on the importation of already licensed equipment — or the more far-reaching approach of banning equipment already imported and installed, which would require users to physically remove and replace it.

The five Chinese companies named on the Covered List — Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua, and Hytera — have consistently denied that their products pose any security risk. Hikvision, for example, has maintained that its products "present no security threat to the United States and there is no technical or legal justification" for the restrictions.

The Bigger Picture: A Technology Cold War

The FCC's actions are part of a much larger effort by successive U.S. administrations to reduce dependence on Chinese technology in critical systems. Multiple administrations have claimed that hardware and software made in China poses a national security risk, and efforts to ban such equipment began in earnest around 2018 as the transition to 5G networks got underway.

The question now is how far the crackdown will go — and whether the U.S. will ultimately require the removal of Chinese tech that is already installed and operating across the country.

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Sources

1. Federal Communications Commission — Prohibition on Authorization of "Covered" Equipment: https://www.fcc.gov/laboratory-division/equipment-authorization-approval-guide/equipment-authorization-system
2. Congressional Research Service (Congress.gov) — New FCC Rules Ban Authorizations for Equipment Posing National Security Risks: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB10895
3. Georgetown University / CSET — FCC Bans Sale of New Devices From Chinese Companies Huawei, ZTE and Others: https://cset.georgetown.edu/article/fcc-bans-sale-of-new-devices-from-chinese-companies-huawei-zte-and-others/
4. O'Melveny & Myers LLP — FCC Bans New Licenses for the Import and Use of Certain Chinese Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Equipment: https://www.omm.com/insights/alerts-publications/fcc-bans-new-licenses-for-the-import-and-use-of-certain-chinese-telecommunications-and-video-surveillance-equipment/
5. Cybersecurity Dive — FCC bans imports of telecom gear from China-based companies: https://www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/fcc-bans-telecom-import-china/637388/
6. ComplianceTesting.com — Foreign Adversary Bad Labs Ban: https://compliancetesting.com/banchinalabs/
7. ExecutiveGov — FCC Expands Ban on Security-Risk Telecom Equipment: https://www.executivegov.com/articles/fcc-telecom-security-ban-huawei-hikvision

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